Blue Pencil Café
Sign up for a one-on-one session with an attending editor! Bring a 2-3 page sample or just your questions, and receive feedback, advice, and insight! Spaces with each editor will be limited, and assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Participating Editors (as of February 2026):
Carl Engle-Laird, Editor, Tor Publishing Group
Andrew Leon Hudson, Editor-in-Chief, Mythaxis UK
Rebecca Bennett, Managing Editor, Heartlines Spec
Ashley Hisson, Managing Editor, Wolsak & Wynn
Selena Middleton, Publisher & EoC, Stelliform Press
Joe Mahoney, Donovan Street Press
Kaffeeklatsch
These 45-60 minute “coffee dates” will be held at Trident Booksellers & Cafe with a small group: your chosen author and 3-7 others. The Kaffeeklatsch includes one Free Drink voucher for the cafe.
Chat, ask questions, make friends–the only thing we ask is that you are respectful, mindful, and kind!
Sign ups available for:
Amal El-Mohtar (The River Has Roots, This Is How You Lose the Time War)
Julie Czerneda (A Shift of Time, To Each the World)
Isaac Fellman (The Two Doctors Górski, Notes from a Regicide)
Terese Mason Pierre (Myth, As The Earth Dreams (ed.))
Tiffany Morris (Carnalis, Green Fuse Burning)
Jennifer Giesbrecht (The Monster of Elendhaven, The Homestuck Epilogues.)
David Demchuk (The Butcher’s Daughter, Red X)
Imaro Book Club!
In the months leading up to TriCon, attendees are invited to read Charles Saunders’ iconic Sword & Soul epic, Imaro. Read alone or join the Discord to chat as we go, then join Jon Tattrie for a live discussion the weekend of the con!
Local attendees are welcome to buy a physical copy at Trident Booksellers & Cafe, or source your own copy as you see fit!
The Charles R. Saunders Readings
Charles R. Saunders is the father of “Sword and Soul”, fantasy fiction based on African myth, history, and culture. Saunders was an author and journalist who lived much of his life in Nova Scotia, after relocating in 1969 to avoid the draft. The novels and essays he wrote here established him as a pioneer of Black speculative fiction.
The Charles R. Saunders Prize was established with the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia to help support an emerging or early-career writer, with priority given to writers from equity-deserving communities.
In celebration of Saunders and his legacy in Nova Scotia, TriCon is proud to present readings from past Saunders Prize winners, as well as a lecture on Saunders’ contribution to fantasy from his biographer, Jon Tattrie (@tattriejon)!
